SUNNYVALE, Ca. – For the fifth straight year, the UC Santa Cruz women's cross country team stands at the top of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference as the Banana Slugs earned their fifth consecutive C2C Cross Country Championship title, recording 26 points with nine All-Conference performers. Elena Stanciu highlighted the team's performance as she claimed the 2025 C2C Cross Country Individual title, leading from start to finish. UC Santa Cruz featured a strong lineup that saw 10 runners record sub 23 minute races. Christopher Newport and Salisbury took second and third in the event, finishing with 53 points and 70th respectively but the Banana Slugs wouldn't be denied another trophy as their top seven runners took seven of the top 11 spots to get the job done.

How It Happened
On a cool morning at the Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, California, the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs got right to work as they looked to defend their crown en route to a five-peat. Elena Stanciu went toe to toe with Salisbury's Anna Bodmer for much of the race before eventually flying to the finish, crossing the line as the only runner in sight with a 21:12.7 to claim the C2C individual title. Helena Janku and Jordan Robinson both stormed to the finish as well with the duo taking third and fifth, running 21:52.0 and 21:59.2. The Banana Slugs wrapped up their victory quickly as the group of Cheryl Chuang, Ryanne Reynolds, Rosey Harris, and Emma Wirz put a stamp on things, taking eighth through 11th in 22:14.1, 22:33.3, 22:35.0, and 22:39.2.

UC Santa Cruz also saw All-Conference performances from the trio of Holly Alchin, Madelyn Basinet, and Fiona Wolf as they took 13th, 15th, and 16th, finishing the 6k race in 22:44.9, 22:52.9, and 22:56.9. The Slugs didn't stop there as Meeran Gill, Faith Dyogi, and Hayden Flynn finished in 23:12.5, 23:27.6, and 23:33.0 to earn 19th, 21st, and 22nd place finishes. Melody Chiu and Hope Martin wrapped up the Championship for UCSC as they took 26th and 33rd with times of 23:52.6 and 24:35.6.